Lawn Care – Repairing Insect Damage

We hear a lot about various insects and anyone that has tried to maintain a lush flower bed will attest to the damage that insects can do to their plants. When it comes to lawns, they too can be attacked by insects. However, it is actually quite rare to have large damaged areas caused by insects. Often the real problem is one of fungi and other diseases that gain a foothold in weakened grasses after an insect attack.

Because we blame the insects, our lawn care program then steps up a notch and tries to treat the ‘insect problem’. Of course, the insects in the main are long gone so the treatment is ineffectual and the problem worsens. Before jumping straight in and treating your lawns with all sorts of insecticides, just remember: The pest that most likely caused the problem has moved on so the only insects that you’re likely to kill are those that are beneficial to your garden.

If insects have damaged your lawns then the areas are generally on small. Of course, there are situations where insects attack in plague proportions. In those situations, you may better off just waiting for the plague to move on before even attempting to repair the damage. In most cases, insects are there to eat and your lawn will generally bounce back if fed and watered well.

For patches that have been stripped or damaged badly, be sure there is no disease present before doing anything more. If there is, treat that first. Once the area is free of disease, cut the area back hard and then scour the surface with a hard rake or fork. Sow seed and water well and keep reasonably moist until the seed has germinated. The Grass Stitcher can make this task a lot easier since it scours the surface leaving small indentations that are perfect for seed germination. If you don’t have one, I suggest you check them out – they are a great tool to have when you need to repair your lawn.